Should you make your Instagram feed shoppable?
Consumers have shorter attention spans than ever, so discovering a way to streamline the shopping experience from inspiration through to purchase was crucial. Without further ado, it’s time to introduce the shoppable Instagram feed!
Have you seen those posts on Instagram with a little shopping bag logo in the corner? Those posts are what we call ‘shoppable’ posts, meaning if someone taps the image, a product name and price will pop up, allowing the user to purchase the product.
Originally, shopping on Instagram was only available to businesses in the United States, but it has since expanded internationally with businesses in over 44 countries now being able to utilise the feature.
Many big-name brands have made their Instagram feeds shoppable, in order to connect with customers in a fresh, more immersive way. The shopping on Instagram feature encourages customers to follow through with their intended purchase. Many shoppers will abandon the shopping pursuit if it’s too difficult. For example, a customer sees a pair of pants on an Instagram feed and heads to the link in bio to shop it. They’re taken to the main website and have to sort through hundreds of pairs of pants. Unless they’ve fallen head over heels for the pants, they’ll most likely abandon the shop and look elsewhere. Sad face.
So, a shoppable Instagram essentials tries to prevent this from happening by making the shopping experience seamless. By tagging products in posts, you’re allowing consumers to complete the entire buyer journey from discovery to checkout, without ever leaving the Instagram app!Talk about a one stop shop!
If you have quite a large inventory with an extensive range of products, we’d strongly recommend creating a shoppable feed. This way, consumers can simply shop the look they love straight from Instagram rather than having to look through a website.
If you have a smaller stock offering, it’s completely up to you whether you want to adopt a shoppable feed or not. We definitely wouldn’t discourage the idea but go with whatever you feel comfortable with!
Still not sure whether a shoppable feed is a good fit for you and your business? Why not pencil in a chat with our team to discuss your Instagram strategy.
Want help creating the visuals for your Instagram feed? Read more here.
Managing social media over the holidays
Managing your social media presence over the holidays: what you can do now to plan ahead!
You’ve worked hard all year...you’re craving a holiday and can’t wait to take a break from corporate life. Phone on silent, cocktail in hand, feet dipped in the pool. Sounds like a dream...can we come?! But wait...what about your social media accounts? Who will look after them while you’re busy unwinding? Social media never sleeps and consistency is key. Correct! So, we’ve come up with some tips to help you manage your social media presence over the holiday season.
Plan, plan, plan. Planning ahead is key. Sure you’ll have to work your butt off up until your holiday break begins but you’ll definitely thank yourself later! Think of what you want to do and achieve over the holiday season. How many emails will you be sending out to subscribers? Are you launching a new product? Are you planning a huge sale? Write all this information down so you know what you’re striving for.
Create content now! Content creation takes time so set aside some one-on-one time with your camera and computer to put together some amazing content your followers will love. Having a bank of images ready to caption and schedule is invaluable come holiday time. Create some short, fun little videos to engage your audience. They’ll be sick of seeing ‘SALE’ images and baubles in every second photo on their social feeds, so grab their attention by giving them something new and exciting to look at.
Schedule away! Scheduling programs will be your godsend. They make life 110% easier. Facebook is great because it allows you to schedule content on the platform itself. For other social platforms like Instagram, you’ll need to use an external scheduling program to plan your content. Some examples include; Hootsuite, Later and Buffer. You will have to spend quite a bit of time adding each piece of content to the schedule, but your future self will forever be in debt when all you have to do is press ‘publish’.
Yes, a dream holiday would mean zero responsibilities and ever flowing cocktails but if you’re a business owner, you may have to succumb to checking your social accounts every now and then just to check in. Respond to comments, direct messages and do a bit of good ‘ol community management. 10-15 minutes out of your day isn’t so bad hey!
We hope these tips will help in the lead up to the Christmas period where all you want to do is relax!
Do you envisage this next month being a tough one? Do you think you’d prefer to have someone else manage your social accounts? Shoot us an email; we’d love to help!
The Power of Bloggers
One of the most powerful ways to get your brand or business noticed is to work with digital influencers (or bloggers.) Their reviews or shout-outs promoting your product and services will not only work to build trust and your reputation amongst consumers, it will also work to increase brand awareness and enhance your marketing strategy in a way you’ve never experienced before.
Thanks to their huge followings, devoted fans and worldwide reach, the opportunity to speak to new markets and spread the word about your business has never been easier.
Need more convincing? Here are a few more reasons to work with bloggers today!
They have a diverse following:
Thanks to the virtual world of social media, the boundaries of location and other demographic variables are no longer barriers to who you can and can’t connect with or market your brand to. Bloggers now have huge followings across the globe, which means they can spread the word about your brand to a far great audience than traditional advertising ever could.
People want to listen:
Blogs are in the top 3 most influential forms of marketing, which means that people look to bloggers and online influencers to authentically review brands and products. Consumers are keen to know what products their favourite bloggers love and are 32% more likely to buy that product or service over traditional marketing or advertising from a brand themselves.
They market your brand in a refreshing and creative way:
While you may have a certain style to your marketing promotions, have you ever thought about presenting your product or service in a different way? This could allow you to potentially reach a new audience or captivate an existing customer database with a refreshing new marketing message. Bloggers are great at doing this, as they use their talent and creativity to showcase, review and present your product or service in new ways you’ve never even thought of!
They build your online community:
By promoting your business to their diverse followers in an engaging and refreshing way, bloggers ultimately help you grow your online social media following and send traffic to your website by tagging your social media handles and linking to your site. That means a more active online community, increased brand awareness and sales! What more could you want?
Are you ready to increase your brand awareness, build your online community and reach new customers? It’s time to start working with bloggers.
Melbourne Social Co can help you get started. Get in touch today: [email protected] for more information.